The David and Lyn Silfen University Forum series was generously endowed by the late University Trustee David M. Silfen and his wife Lyn to foster conversation and debate regarding important contemporary issues.

Twenty people are forcibly displaced every minute as a result of conflict or persecution. Some 65.6 million people around the globe have been forced from home, a level not seen since World War II. Among them are nearly 22.5 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18. As daunting as the worldwide refugee crisis is, it is just one of a host of contentious issues surrounding immigration and the global movement of people in the 21st century.

Governments and societies grapple with fundamental questions about how to balance longstanding and cherished commitments to human rights and individual dignity with equally compelling questions of border protection, national security, economic development, and the equitable allocation of resources and public services.

In the United States, these concerns are manifest in fractious national debates about border walls, travel bans, and the protections afforded to children of undocumented immigrants. Indeed, in January of this year, the U.S. government shut down due in large measure to a Senate impasse over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. In Europe, a rising tide of reactionary and populist movements draws energy from public discontent with swelling numbers of refugees and the growing presence of immigrant communities.

How should national and international institutions approach the challenging policy questions raised by refugees, asylum seekers, and children of illegal immigrants? How can a diverse world recognize the importance of economic growth and development and security for all countries, along with the human rights and dignity of immigrants? Where should U.S. immigration policy go from here?

Panelists

Join Penn President Amy Gutmann, 47th Vice President of the United States and Benjamin Franklin Presidential Practice Professor - Joe Biden, the 43rd Governor of Florida - Jeb Bush, University Professor and Director of Columbia Global Policy Initiative at Columbia University - Michael Doyle, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration – Anne Richard, and Penn’s own Dau Jok, C’14 and founder of the Dut Jok Youth Foundation. The panelists will discuss where U.S. immigration policy should go from here, including how a diverse world can recognize the importance of economic growth and security for all countries, along with the human rights and dignity of immigrants. Our panel with give special attention to compelling questions of border protection, national security, economic development, and the equitable allocation of resources and public services.

For more information, visit upenn.edu/silfenforum.